OUR HEARTBEAT [BEOMJUN] ✅

five

“And the winning topic is …” Ms. Lee paused dramatically.

It was Monday again. The first week of school had been uneventful, except for podcasting class, where we got to hear about all the different aspects of producing a podcast. It was surprisingly fascinating. Over the weekend, we’d had to vote online for the topic. I’d happily voted for Arin’s “dating dos and don’ts” idea.

So I was stunned when Ms. Lee took her marker and wrote Advice Show across the dry-erase board.

“Choi Beomgyu, please stand.”

I bit my lip and slowly rose to my feet.

“Congratulations! Your idea earned the most votes from the class.”

“Uh, thanks,” I said, feeling my face flush pink.

“What I didn’t tell you all when giving you this assignment,” Ms. Lee continued, adjusting her glasses and smiling, “was that the person who submits the winning topic will automatically be one of the hosts.”

“What?” I blurted out. “No. I can’t.”

Ms. Lee laughed. “You are in a podcasting class, Beomgyu. You didn’t think you might have to do some speaking?”

It hadn’t even crossed my mind. “I think other people would do better at that particular part of the process.” My heart raced. I wasn’t qualified to give advice to anyone.

“Like me,” Sieun said.

“Yes, like Sieun,” I agreed. “She should do it.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Ms. Lee said. “Because Sieun will be your cohost.”

Sieun smiled triumphantly.

My eyes locked with Arin’s. She looked hurt.

“Or Arin,” I said quickly. “Arin would be an excellent host.”

“I’ve already assigned all the jobs,” Ms. Lee explained, picking up a sheet of paper from her desk. “I will post them on the board momentarily. Once I have, please, in an orderly manner, come check them out. Then look for the corresponding binder on the back table. Two people are assigned to each task. Our first show will be Wednesday after school. This is so exciting!” With a flourish, she used a magnet to stick the piece of paper to the board.

I was still on my feet but I didn’t move as the rest of the class stood and jostled around me. Nobody said anything as they made their way to the list. Not even Arin. Something lit a fire in me and I pushed my way through the class.

“I really think you picked the wrong student,” I told Ms. Lee when I reached her. “I only got the idea for this topic because Arin gave some great advice to my cousin. Arin is good at advice. I’d like a different assignment, please.”

Ms. Leebshook her head. “Beomgyu, the harder you fight me on this the more I realize it’s exactly what you need to do. You obviously applied to this class for a reason.”

Was Arin forced me to a reason she would understand?

“But I wanted to learn about behind-the-scenes stuff,” I explained. “Maybe the hosts can switch after two weeks like the rest of the jobs do?”

Ms. Le shook her head. “Sorry, but hosting has to be consistent for the listeners. You know it’s the one job that doesn’t get to switch. But you’ll learn about every element of podcasting in class along with the others.” She glanced past me. “Now, it looks like Sieun already has your binder. I need you two to get to know each other so you can work well together on air.”